Coco Gauff of the United States poses for photos with the Rookwood Cup after defeating Jessica Pegula of the United States to win the women’s singles title during the final day of the Cincinnati Open on Aug. 23, 2026 in Mason, Ohio. Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Arthur Fils beat Francis Tiafoe in the Cincinnati Open Final on Sunday, Aug. 23, to win his first Masters 1000 title, while Coco Gauff beat Jessica Pegula on Saturday for her second Cincinnati title.
After losing the second set, the 21st seed from France dominated the third set to finish the American 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.
“After the second set I talked to myself in the mirror … said, ‘come on, man. Do something. Show something,’ because I was really going down. So pretty happy with the way I played the third set,” he said in the post-match press conference.
17th-seeded Tiafoe struggled on his first serve, only hitting 39 percent, compared to Fils’s 59 percent.
The tournament is the only Masters 1000 event that Tiafoe has previously played a final in, losing to Jannik Sinner in 2024.
Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Frenchman has made it to two Masters 1000 semifinals in his career, at Miami and Madrid this year, despite injuries that forced him to miss the Australian Open and French Open.
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“I knew I could make it, even though I was injured, out of the tour for eight months, then out of the tour again for two months,” he said. “To be able to win one title like this means a lot to me. … It’s a lot of training, a lot of things, a lot of sacrifice.”
Coco Gauff’s Dominance
Gauff raced to a 5-0 lead in the all-American women’s final before closing out the world number three in a decisive 6-2, 6-4 victory.
After losing the two Masters 1000 finals she played in this year at Miami and Rome, the 22-year-old found success on the court, where she won her first Masters 1000 title in 2023.
“Over the course of the last two tournaments … I feel like I’ve been playing the tennis that I’ve been wanting to play and I think the results are now coming,” she said in the post-match press conference.
The 32-year-old Pegula, who outlasted defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinal, dropped five of the six break points Gauff created.
The tournament has been Pegula’s strongest Grand Slam recently, making it to the semifinals last year and the finals the year before.
Gauff won her maiden Grand Slam in New York in 2023 but hasn’t reached the quarterfinals since.
Reuters contributed to this report.
